Relics
by time-converges
Summary: The Doctor and Donna must spend an evening aboard the TARDIS with no power. How do they pass the time? Written for katherine b, who won my services in the Support Stacie auction.


Title: Relics

Author: time_converges

Characters/Pairing: Donna/the Doctor (Tenth)

Rating: PG13

Word Count: 2575

Prompt: The Doctor and Donna must spend an evening on the TARDIS with no power.

Summary/Author's Notes: Written for the lovely katherine_b, who had the winning bid in the Support Stacie Auction. Many thanks to shining_moment for looking this over.

Donna flinched as another shower of sparks erupted from under the console, spraying over her shoes. She clung to the edge, desperately trying to keep her footing as the TARDIS pitched wildly. The Doctor was thrown against the console, grunting as the wind was knocked out of him.

"Are you alright?" she called.

" 'm fine," he said, slightly out of breath. He continued working the controls quickly, bracing himself with one foot against the console as the TARDIS continued to shake around them. Flames briefly licked out from under the floor grating, and Donna quickly dodged them.

"You'd better get out," he said, furiously pumping the bicycle pump.

"I'm staying with you." She yelped as another shower of sparks rained down over them. "What are you going to do?"

"The only thing I can do – I'm trying to get us into the vortex and then power everything down, try to stop the cascade." He sprayed the fire extinguisher at the sparks, with little effect.

"Oh," she replied. "All the power?"

"Nothing else for it." He managed to keep his balance as the ship tilted again, but Donna was thrown to the floor. She looked up in time to see him pull one final lever, and the room was plunged into silence and darkness.

"Doctor?"

"Don't move, I'll find you," he replied quickly, and she heard his footsteps on the grating as he approached slowly.

"Mind you don't trip over me."

He ignored that comment, and she jumped when she felt his hand on her arm. "Up you get." He helped her to her feet and took her hand. "I think there's a torch over here---yep, there it is." A sudden light shone, illuminating the floor in front of him.

She let out a sigh of relief, not wanting to admit how much the dark had disturbed her. The ship was oddly quiet, and she shivered.

"It's going to get a bit cold, I'm afraid. She'll need at least eight hours to repair her systems, so nothing for us to do but wait."

"Are you going to tell me what happened?" One moment they had been travelling to meet Charlie Chaplin, the next there had been a unexpected transmission squealing over the speakers, followed by alarms sounding and sparks flying.

"That transmission we received wasn't a transmission, it was a weapon, designed to take down our defences. Some sort of temporal mine, left behind by...someone."

"By who?"

He pressed the torch into her hand. "Gather up some blankets, and meet me in the library."

She grabbed his arm as he turned. "Where are you going?"

"To see what there is to eat. Don't worry, I'll find you in the library." He smiled and turned, brushing his hand against the wall as he walked. She took firm hold of the torch and headed toward her bedroom, praying the batteries wouldn't give out before she made it to the library.

Her room seemed oddly unfamiliar in the torch light, and she tried to ignore the wavering shadows at the edge of the circle of light. She gathered as many blankets as she could and piled them on the sofa, then pulled the sofa closer to the fireplace. She hoped they would still be able to use it even without power to the rest of the ship. She turned at the sound of his footsteps, and saw a flickering light through the open doorway before he appeared in it, carrying a tray that included a lit candle.

"Candles, brilliant," she said, relieved. He set the tray down, and Donna quickly lit the other candles and placed them around the table, creating a welcome pool of light. "Can we light a fire?"

"Perhaps later, I don't want to overtax the ventilation systems," he said. "But if it gets too cold, we will," he added quickly as she rubbed her arms. The air already seemed cooler to her, and the silence was oppressive.

"It seems so quiet," she blurted, without thinking.

"You're used to having the TARDIS in your head." He stepped forward, taking her arms in his hands and rubbing gently. "All her power is going to repair the damaged systems, so she's turned off that link."

"Oh," she said. She had rather become used to the gentle hum of the ship in the back of her mind, always with her, and now she missed it.

"It'll come back," he said with a small smile, releasing her and moving back to the table. "Now, no power means no tea, more's the pity, but I found some bottled lemonade, and of course biscuits."

Donna curled up in one corner of the sofa, pulling one of the blankets down over her lap. "Well, so long as there's biscuits, we might survive this," she said lightly.

He chuckled, and handed her one of the bottles. It was cold in her palm, and she wished for a warm cuppa to take the edge off of the chill. He took a seat next to her, munching noisily on a biscuit.

They ate in silence for a few moments, before she broke it finally. "So, who left the mine?"

He chewed for another minute, and she waited for him to answer. "I can't say for sure, but it's likely left over from the Time War."

"Oh." When he didn't elaborate, she asked, "Which side left it?"

"Both sides used them, so I can't be sure. We're lucky it wasn't at full power, actually."

"Why? What would it have done?"

He reached for the packet of biscuits, offering it to her first before he sat back again. "Let's just say it would have been bad. Very bad."

"How bad?" she persisted.

"They were designed to take down a ship's defences while in the vortex. Doing that would probably tear the ship apart."

"But you stopped it?"

"I stopped the power cascade through the systems, yes."

She nodded, and pulled the blanket closer around her. The room was definitely getting colder. "But she – the TARDIS – will recover, won't she?"

"I think I caught it in time, so yes, she'll recover, once she repairs the initial damage to the systems."

"Good."

"Yeah."

She watched him as he sat, lost in his thoughts. She couldn't imagine him without the TARDIS. She couldn't imagine her own life without the ship as her home. She shivered, and he looked up.

"We could light a fire," he offered, sliding over to put his arm around her shoulders.

"No, not yet," she replied, resting her head on his shoulder. She didn't want to risk it yet.

"I stole her, you know," he said absently.

She looked up at him with a smirk. "Are you telling me that to impress me?"

He laughed, and she felt it rumble through his chest as she tucked her head under his chin. "No. But I did. She had been left to gather dust, abandoned—"

"So you just thought you'd help yourself?"

"She was obsolete already. She'd belonged to someone else before, of course. It took awhile for her to trust me, for me to get attuned to her and her to me."

"But now you have a link, a connection?"

"Something like that. A Time Lord imprints on his TARDIS. Otherwise the piloting is...imprecise. Not impossible, of course, just difficult."

"So you pinched it?"

He laughed again. "Something like that. I needed to get away, get off Gallifrey, and I saw my chance. I didn't think anyone would come after me, not for that. So I took off running."

"Travelling," she corrected.

"That's a nice way to say it. It turned into that, but at the time I was running away, and I knew it. From family, from responsibility, from everything."

"What made you go?"

"I just knew there had to be more out there than we had seen, even at the Academy. Worlds and people and wonders to see and experience first-hand. I didn't want to get stuck, I suppose."

Donna nodded against him. She could understand that desire. She remembered her old life, temping endlessly, thinking Lance was her ticket out of that life. "I think I'm doing the same thing, sometimes. Running."

"Running away from what?"

"Everything – my old life, my mother. Meeting you, that first time, I realised how much was out there that I had been missing."

"But you turned me down that first time," he reminded her, squeezing her shoulder.

"Yeah, I did. It took me a little while to realise what I had seen with you, and to know that that was the life I wanted."

"Took you long enough," he said, and she could hear the smile in his voice.

"Oi, settle down there." She slid her arm over his waist, and he reached back to pull another blanket down to cover them both. "So, did they ever come looking for you?"

"For what?"

"For stealing a spaceship. Time machine. TARDIS."

"Not for a while, but yes, eventually that did come up."

"And what happened?"

"I was punished at various times, for various things. The council disabled the TARDIS and stranded me on Earth for a little while, although not directly for stealing it."

"Were you naughty?"

He chuckled. "That was the opinion. I was...disobedient."

"You didn't do what they wanted you to. Somehow that doesn't surprise me."

"Oi!" he protested weakly, and she laughed. "I think you know me too well," he added.

"Don't you forget it."

"I won't."

"I'm glad they let you keep it."

"Yeah," he said softly, and she wondered if there had been a price for that. "Now she's all that's left of Gallifrey."

"I know." She rested her hand against his chest, feeling his heartbeats under her palm.

"I don't know if I could bear it—" he whispered.

"I know," she repeated. She couldn't bear the thought of him losing the TARDIS. She shivered again, and he fumbled in his pocket for the sonic screwdriver. He pointed it at the fireplace, and warm flames appeared. "Are you sure?"

"It'll be fine," he replied, returning the screwdriver to his pocket. "Better?"

She nodded against him as she felt the air warm around them. "Are you hungry?" she asked.

"No – are you?"

"No." She drew the blankets closer around them, enjoying the warmth from the fireplace. "Why is she shaped like a Police Box, anyhow?"

"She was originally designed to be able to take any shape, to blend into any surroundings where you might land. That circuit – the chameleon circuit – er – doesn't work anymore."

"And you can't fix it?"

"Well...I probably could, but I'm rather used to the shape now. It seems a shame to change it."

"But it doesn't blend in very well, does it?"

"True, but there's the perception filter as well – people just don't notice it. It could be in the middle of any city, and no one would notice it unless they were looking for it."

She wondered how many times she might have seen it without even knowing it, back home, before. "Hmm."

"What's that for?"

"I was just thinking – wondering if I'd ever seen it before, and not noticed."

"I would have noticed you." He stroked her hair gently.

She rolled her eyes, even though he couldn't see. "Ginger hair, right?"

"A beautiful woman with ginger hair. I would definitely have noticed you."

"Alright then." She felt a pleasant warmth in her chest at his words.

"So, what did make you start looking for me? It wasn't right away, not right after I left, was it?"

She shook her head. "No, it was later. After I went to Egypt, and realised that that wasn't the sort of travelling I wanted to do. I wanted it to be more real, you know? Not sanitised."

"With more running," he added.

She snorted. "Yeah, it was the running I missed, you daft git."

"It wasn't just Egypt, was it?"

She paused, swallowing against a sudden lump in her throat. "No. After Dad died, I started thinking about what I wanted, what I should be doing. And I realised it wasn't sitting in some office, typing and answering phones. I wanted to get out there and do something, see what else was out there. Find you again."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there when he died." He dropped a kiss on the top of her head.

"I know." She squeezed his waist.

"So, why me?" he persisted.

"Oh, I don't know – you had a spaceship and a time machine, didn't you?"

"You came looking for me because of the TARDIS?"

She laughed. "Don't sound so wounded. That wasn't the only reason."

"And here I thought it was my winning personality,"

"And your non-stop talking."

"At least it wasn't for the sonic screwdriver."

"Well, if I had known then..."

"Oi!"

She tilted her head up and kissed his chin. "Don't be silly. I missed you. I didn't realise then how much, but I remembered how I felt when I was with you, and I couldn't let that chance get away again."

"How did you feel?" His voice was low and rough.

Cherished. Important. Wonderful. "Brilliant."

"You are brilliant, you know."

"I didn't believe that then."

"I know."

She listened to his heartbeats under her ear, and watched the flickering flames in the fireplace. "You know, the candles and firelight are a little romantic."

"Aha, my plans are working!"

"So this was all a ruse? Get me all snuggled up with you? You forgot the wine."

"I knew I had forgotten something," he said mildly. "I'll plan better for our next power cut."

"Take notes."

He stroked her arm and placed a kiss on the top of her head. She shivered. "I know another way to keep warm."

"Do you now?" She slid her hand up over his chest again, toying with the buttons of his shirt.

"I might." He lifted her chin with his finger, tilting her face up so he could kiss her, gently at first, then more insistently. She let him part her lips and deepen the kiss as she stroked his cheek.

"I hope you're thinking what I'm thinking," she said when they stopped for breath.

"If you're thinking—" he broke off with a squeak of surprise as she pushed him down onto the sofa and kissed him again.

***

"Donna, wake up," the Doctor said softly, shaking her shoulder gently.

"Five more minutes," she said automatically, keeping her eyes squeezed shut as she burrowed into the pillow. When she realised it wasn't her pillow, or the Doctor's pillow, but rather the sofa cushion, she opened her eyes. She was relieved to see the familiar glow of the TARDIS, and to feel the familiar presence in the back of her mind. She turned over to find the Doctor grinning at her from where he was kneeling by the sofa.

"All repaired," he said, and she could hear the relief in his voice. She reached for his hand and squeezed it.

"Now then, shall we get back on track to see Mr Chaplin?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.

She shook her head. "Let's see what new world we can find instead, spaceman. Mr Chaplin will wait. Time machine, remember?"

He leaned down to kiss her, slow and searching. When he pulled back, his eyes were serious. "Brilliant idea, Earth Girl. What would I do without you?"

"Let's hope it's a long time before you have to find out," she replied, pulling him down for another kiss.


End file.
